My Obligatory Halloween Story
by OhMyWord
Summary: I leaned in a little closer to her ear, “I bet we could leave and come back without anyone knowing we’re gone.”


Author's Note: I wish I had pictures for this one, but I couldn't find quite the right ones. Think Sofia Coppola's version of Marie Antoinette for the party scene, only a bit less ornate. Also, it's my birthday today :) So here's a little bit of Halloween candy for you because I'm in such a good mood.

Nice reviews are better than chocolate, unless maybe you're licking that chocolate off someone.

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My Obligatory Halloween Story

We'd officially lost the bet to Alice and Jasper. It wasn't exactly fair though because the both of us had day jobs and couldn't spend days together in bed like they could. Nonetheless, we came pretty close. I still think they stretched the truth; no one has sex that often. The hardships of the independently wealthy are the kind of things I could get on board with.

So, the bet was this: Alice thinks Bella and I are too stuffy, or boring as she puts it. We don't think so, but boring is pretty relative in Alice's world. So we made a bet and the winners got to dress the losers for Halloween. I tried to be a good sport about it, but Bella was another story. She still swears up and down that they were lying, that no one could have that much sex in one week. It's amusing to listen to her talk about it. Anyway, we weren't to be told what our costumes would be until we had to put them on. Alice was having a party at her house, if you could call it that; there wasn't really a word that could describe how massive it was. That's where we were supposed to dress up.

Bella was there already, after spending a good deal of the morning begging me to let her stay home. I told her she'd have to face the wrath of Alice if she didn't go. She left with a pout that I wanted to kiss off her face. I wasn't due until about an hour before the party, so I hoped whatever I had to wear wasn't too ornate. I couldn't even imagine what they had in store for me. I tried getting Jasper to tell me, but I don't think he wanted to face Alice's wrath much either. He kept telling me different things, the last time I asked he said they were going to dress me as a flasher. I stopped asking after that.

I left about thirty minutes before I was due, my nerves unusually active. I pulled into their circular driveway; Jasper was sitting on the large wraparound porch. He looked like he'd stepped right out of an 18th century period movie. His outfit was cream colored and the jacket had tails; he held a triangular hat in his lap. He wore brown leather boots, his pants tucked into them.

I stepped out of my car and burst out laughing.

He stood up jauntily and put his hat on his head; it had a large, white feather on it. "Who are you supposed to be?" I tried to contain myself.

"I'm Louis XVI, of course." He turned in a circle for me. "Don't laugh, your costume is almost exactly the same, except you get a cape," he grinned. He laughed at my changed expression and led me inside. "Alice says we're not allowed to see them until it's time for the party, so I have no idea how she dressed Bella."

"I assume Alice is Marie Antoinette then?"

"Yeah, you should see the thing she bought for her hair."

The party was going to be held in a huge, cream colored tent in their back yard. I looked out the window before Jasper led me upstairs. I could see the coordinator lighting up the inside of the tent. The fabric of it was semi transparent and soft looking. We went up to one of the four guest bedrooms, Alice and Bella were in the master suite.

My costume was layed out on the bed. The pants were just like Jasper's, the shirt was white with two ties that hung down the front; they were supposed to be knotted in some complicated way that I didn't think I could manage. The jacket was a dark gold color and the boots were black. He was right, there was a cape. It was black with a gold patterned border; the hat was the same.

"I'm not wearing that."

"Hey, you should be grateful; Alice had wigs for us that I talked her out of. But if you don't want to wear it, you'll have to tell Alice yourself," he shrugged and sat in one of the big upholstered chairs near the window. I debated it for a minute before giving in, if Bella could do it so could I. I changed into the costume; Jasper knotted my shirt and helped me tuck my pants into my shoes. "I'm going to tell Bella you're blushing," he said.

"I am not."

Jasper just laughed and stood up to walk over to the window which overlooked the front lawn. A car was pulling up, the couple got out and a valet took their keys while another man led them to the back. "It's showtime." He took my hat and plopped it on my head; I straightened it out and followed him down the stairs.

We walked out the big glass back doors; Jasper put his arms out jovially. He was really enjoying himself. "Emmett, hi," he said, shaking the man's hand. He introduced us and then Emmett introduced his girlfriend, Rosalie. They were both dressed as vampires, Emmett in a dark suit with a cape and Rosalie in a dark red corset.

I was beginning to get anxious; I wanted to see Bella. As if on cue, the glass doors swung open. The four of us turned to see a man in a plain black suit. He grinned quickly before becoming stoic, "they're ready."

Alice came out first; her hair was piled up on her head and she had a hair piece that made it about a foot high. Her dress was dark green; she looked regal. She walked out and spun once, then walked over to Jasper and faced the doors. After a minute she sighed and walked back inside. She came back out holding Bella's hand.

My mouth dropped open. Her dress was a deep, electric blue. It was off the shoulder and nipped in at the waist to make her look even tinier than she already was. It ended in a big, full skirt that I knew she'd be tripping over all night.

I wanted to rip it off her.

I moved my eyes back to her face. Her hair was piled in curls on top of her head, not quite as high as Alice's. She also had two peacock feathers in her hair, the blue in the feathers matching the blue of the dress. She saw me and smiled. We walked toward each other as another few people arrived; I was grateful for the distraction. I wrapped my arms around her and leaned to whisper in her ear. "So, is this dress easy to take off?" I kissed her just below her ear. I moved back and she was blushing.

"Edward, look at me. I look-"

"Sexy, I think that's the word you're looking for." I took her hand and walked toward the tent where the rest of the guests were headed.

Inside, tiny white strings of lights put out a dim glow in the large tent. I looked at Bella; her skin looked like porcelain in the warm light. We moved to a table and sat down; I moved as close to her as I could and kissed her neck. She regarded me closely when I pulled back. "You look really good tonight," she tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck though not on purpose. I resisted the urge. We snapped out of it as the music started, I glanced at her mischievously. "Don't even think about it; I can barely walk in this thing."

"What? I was just going to ask if you wanted some champagne," I gave her my best innocent smile. She looked at me suspiciously and nodded. I walked across the tent toward a waiter with a tray of champagne flutes. I took two and turned, almost running into Jasper. "Hey."

"Having a good time?" He didn't wait for me to answer, "You know…we have four guest bedrooms in case, in case you can't wait –"

"Jasper, I don't want to hear this."

"I just thought I'd mention it," he grinned, ignoring my irritation. "You better get back there before that guy tries to make his move." He bumped my arm and gestured toward Bella with his glass. I turned to see a man dressed as a cowboy leaning way too close to her.

"Who is that guy?"

"Can't tell. Listen, we wouldn't mind –"

I ignored him and made my way back to the table, only absently trying to figure out why Jasper would say that to me. Bella heard me approaching the table and turned, looking relieved. I paid no attention to the interloper while I handed her a glass and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. I sat next to her as close as I could then and looked up at the man, possessiveness coming off me in waves. I grinned and said, "hello, I don't believe we've met." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Garrett, Bella and I were in college together. Isn't that right?"

Did he just _wink_ at her?

"Hmm, she and I were in college together too; she never mentioned you."

He gave a half hearted laugh then and nodded once toward Bella before making his way across the room. Bella exhaled loudly once he was out of earshot. "I can't stand that guy. We had one class together; he's like that with anyone that'll give him the time of day."

"Well, tonight you can't really blame him. Have you looked at yourself lately?" I gave her a lopsided grin and reached up to play with the sleeve of her dress at the shoulder.

"It _is_ a pretty dress, isn't it?" She touched the fabric. "Not comfortable though." I kissed her shoulder where my hand had just been, trying and failing to pay attention to anything else in the room. I looked up after a while, couples danced and through them I saw Jasper standing next to Alice smiling from ear to ear. Alice did not look as amused.

"Jasper's being weird tonight."

Bella laughed at that and looked for him in the crowd, "why do you say that?"

"He offered us a guest room, just in case." I expected her to blush at that, but instead she bit her lip and looked down. "What?"

"I don't know, it could be…fun," she grinned when she saw my eyes widen. This was very unexpected; I had no idea how to respond. The blush started at her cheeks then, moving to her chest where it distracted me. Stealing away suddenly sounded like an interesting proposition.

I leaned in a little closer to her ear, "I bet we could leave and come back without anyone knowing we're gone." I felt her take in a sharp breath, her eyes downcast to where my hand rested on her lap. I couldn't say exactly what made me change my mind, but it didn't matter. I wanted her and I didn't think I could wait until we got home. She stood up without saying anything and grabbed my hand, looking at me conspiratorially. I took a quick scan around the room to make sure no one was paying attention and then led her outside. A few couples stood outside, admiring the view of the creek that bisected the yard. Bella stopped and looked up at the moon, which looked large and low in the sky; I stood next to her and she leaned into me. "I love you," I murmured, looking at her profile in the low light.

She looked up at me, "I love you." I took her face in my hands and bent to kiss her. It started out soft, but soon enough I was tracing her bottom lip with my tongue. I could feel our breathing becoming haggard.

I pulled myself away, my hands still holding her face. "Let's get inside," I said gruffly. We made a poor attempt at looking inconspicuous, darting inside the glass doors. We could hear the quiet voices of the party staff in the kitchen where Alice had set up food for them. Bella paused just inside the doors and bent down to take off her shoes; she held them in one hand while I took the other to lead her up the stairs.

We went to the same room I'd been in earlier; my regular clothes were folded in a pile on the chair by the window. Once inside I shut the door and pressed her up against it. "Wait," she said, looking up at me. I stopped mid-movement and met her gaze; she grabbed the hat off my head and tossed it somewhere across the room. "Ok, cape too," she grinned, loosening the ties. To be honest, I'd forgotten I had any of that on. She let it fall to the floor in a heap.

"That better?"

"Hmm?" She was busy trying to untie the knot at my throat. "Oh, much." Her urgency was turning me on even more if that was possible. I half carried Bella the few feet to the bed and sat her down at the edge of it, facing the foot. I sat behind her and leaned forward slightly to kiss her back just above the first clasp of the dress. I undid the clasp and kissed the newly exposed skin; I felt her inhale sharply. I continued that way until the last clasp was undone. I straightened up then and took my jacket off, letting it drop to the floor. I pulled my shirt up over my head after that; I didn't want anything between us.

I pressed against her and slipped the dress off her shoulders; it fell to her waist. She leaned back on my chest and let out a soft sigh. I knew I wasn't going to hold out much longer. It didn't look like she was either; she turned and moved to sit on my lap. She kissed me with abandon, trying to push her dress the rest of the way down at the same time. I chuckled and lay her down on the bed so I could help. I hovered over her, running my tongue over the indentation where her hip met her stomach. I leaned on one arm, using my free hand to push her dress and underwear down to her knees. I snaked down her body and pulled her clothes off the rest of the way. I got up to my knees to look at her. I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing Bella without clothes; beauty like that was unprecedented.

She sat up and grabbed the waistband of my pants, moving me out of my reverie; I grinned and stood up to take the rest of my clothes off. When I was finished, I moved over her again. I felt her lips moving deftly across my collarbone and up my neck to my jaw. I grabbed her left leg and moved it so it was around my waist; she followed with the other leg.

I pressed into her, putting some of my weight on her. I was always afraid of hurting her, but she said she liked the feeling of me over her. She wrapped her arms around me as we moved together; I nipped at her neck and felt her breathing quicken. She arched her back and I moaned into her mouth. I felt her legs tightening around my waist and I knew she was close. Bella took in one quick breath then and moaned quietly; her eyes closed and she arched her back again. I followed close behind, my own sounds muffled by her neck.

We stayed like that for a short while until we both realized where we were. I moved so that half my body was off Bella. "Edward?" She said quietly. I moved my gaze from her body up to her eyes, running my fingertips up and down her arm. "I need to tell you something, don't be mad." I braced myself. "Jasper and Alice made a bet today about whether or not we'd make it to the end of the party." She worried her lip between her teeth and looked up at me. I propped myself up on my elbow and didn't say anything. "I took Jasper's side."

"You mean you used me to win a bet?"

"I wouldn't put it like that exactly. I don't know, I just-"

I interrupted her with a quick kiss and chuckled. "That explains Jasper's comments earlier. I'm not mad at all, even if I was objectified," I kissed her again, more deeply this time. "So, what'd you bet?"

"Just bragging rights. They bet money, but I don't know how much."

"Should we get back down there so they know who won?" I grinned crookedly.

I helped her back into her dress, closing up the back for her. She helped me re-knot my shirt. She also grabbed the rest of my costume and helped me get situated. "My hair?" She asked self consciously.

I walked behind her, where the real damage may have been done, but it looked perfect. "You're perfect." I moved to face her, "the feathers even stayed in place." She smiled and took the arm I offered her. We walked carefully back down the stairs and outside, trying not to catch anyone's attention; I wasn't sure how long we'd been gone.

I led Bella into the tent where the party was still in full swing. Alice and Jasper were dancing together, moving skillfully across the floor. I looked at Bella and grinned, pulling her onto the floor. She let me lead her; I'd like to think she was too satiated to put up a fight, but that may be my ego talking. Either way, she danced with me, following my steps. After a minute, a slow, romantic song came on and I pulled Bella close. "Are they looking?" She asked, a smile in her voice.

I found Jasper in the crowd, where he was still dancing with Alice, staring at us. "He's looking." I grinned as he raised his eyebrows and winked at him. I watched him whisper something to Alice, who turned to look at us. Bella grinned and pressed her face into my chest to hide her blush. Alice made a face and pulled money out of the top of her dress, handing it to Jasper, who watched the movement with a heavy lidded expression, his mouth half open. I guessed they wouldn't last long either.

I pulled Bella closer, wrapping an arm more tightly around her. She raised her face to look at me and I kissed her softly. "So, are you ready to get out of here?" I kissed her under her jaw, sneaking a quick taste in case she needed convincing.

"Definitely."


End file.
